NFTE blog

Startup Summer Update

The 11 students participating in NFTE’s second class of Startup Summer, despite fatigue, met day 5 looking as professional as they did when they started. For the past few days students have been formulating their

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S.M.A.R.T. goals and crafting their marketing strategies; It's an important milestone that will inform their work for the rest of the summer.

On day 4 of the program, the students took to the streets of downtown Brooklyn to conduct market research using surveys they created to help gain relevant feedback and a new perspective on the mission and vision of their developing businesses. One student, Vincent Mascoll, recounts the difficulties of his experience out on the streets. The hardest part of conducting market research was convincing passersby to even take a glimpse of his survey. His product, the “shade on wheels” (a protective cover for wheelchairs), wasn’t making people’s heads turn. At one point, Vincent recalls feeling like he wanted to quit. After two hours of circling around the Long Island University Brooklyn campus with his prototype in hand, Vincent had six complete surveys and made an important contact with a physical therapist with a long list of potential clients. Instead of quitting, which he could very well have done, Vincent persisted with a positive attitude, focusing on the benefits the challenge would present in the end.

The students returned to the classroom at the end of the first week to share the critiques they received from their peers and survey participants. Each student’s ability to articulate ideas to improve their business and those of their peers was impressive. Despite the fact that they are all in different stages of startup, they do not view each other as competition. Startup Summer has become a foundation of support and they are all hoping to see each other succeed and serve as a community of resources and support for one another.

Anjelica is a New York University graduate with plans of starting her own business. Check back in the coming days for more Startup Summer updates from Anjelica.